As two Northern Virginia counties begin to look at what local government can do to battle illegal immigration, some in Charlottesville and Albemarle County's Latino community say they are fearful those measures could be implemented here. They spoke of widespread anxiety caused by the fear of deportation or racial profiling by local officials.

Appointed and elected officials say, however, that the Charlottesville and Albemarle area is a very different place than Northern Virginia and would have little appetite for such reform.

Prince William County recently embarked on a new, controversial path in trying to find a way to deal with illegal immigration locally. Prince William is trying to figure out how to deny illegal immigrants county services. According to The Washington Post, the county?s elected officials there say illegal immigrants are overcrowding schools and straining county services. County supervisors have instructed Prince William police to verify residency status of anyone in custody who might be an illegal immigrant, although the details of the proposal are still being worked out. Similar measures are being pursued in nearby Loudoun County.

In recent interviews, conducted in Spanish with the help of an interpreter, illegal and legal immigrants in the Charlottesville area said that they have paid greater attention to the news and have become fearful that they could be stopped and questioned, or deported, because of the color of their skin.